


Now That You're In My Head, I Never Want You To Leave

by Creativemind34



Category: RWBY
Genre: Coming of Age, F/F, Soulmate AU, Two Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2020-09-27 15:55:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20410387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Creativemind34/pseuds/Creativemind34
Summary: Everyone knows that once a person begins puberty, they begin to catch glimpses of their soulmate’s thoughts. Usually just insignificant stray sentences such as “I think I’ll have eggs for breakfast” or “WOW I hate doing math!” but occasionally, if a significant life event occurs, a full stream of consciousness or even an image. When soulmates meet in person, this phenomenon deepens into an ability to share their thoughts with one another on a more consistent level. A telepathic link connecting two halves of a disconnected spirit. It is believed that this link is the soul’s attempt to reconnect itself, if not physically then at least mentally. That prospect always terrified Weiss. She was never a fan of the idea of letting people into her head.





	1. Part 1: Weiss

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written fanfiction in ages and I missed it so I decided the best way to pick it back up was to just jump in. So instead of doing my philosophy homework, I wrote this one-shot that could totally be better which shall serve as my jumping off point.

Everyone knows that once a person begins puberty, they begin to catch glimpses of their soulmate’s thoughts. Usually just insignificant stray sentences such as “I think I’ll have eggs for breakfast” or “WOW I hate doing math!” but occasionally, if a significant life event occurs, a full stream of consciousness or even an image. When soulmates meet in person—an event which typically occurs much later in life—this phenomenon deepens into an ability to share their thoughts with one another on a more consistent level. A telepathic link connecting two halves of a disconnected spirit. It is believed that this link is the soul’s attempt to reconnect itself, if not physically then at least mentally. That prospect always terrified Weiss. She was never a fan of the idea of letting people into her head.

When Weiss Schnee was twelve years old, she was sitting at her desk in math working on a pythagorean theorem problem when she heard a voice that wasn’t her own say_ I could really go for some cookies right about now._ It was light. Innocent. Joyful. Unlike anything she had ever heard before. After a split second of confusion, the dots connected and just like that all thoughts of triangles flew from her brain. All she could focus on was that voice. _That wasn’t me, right? No, it definitely wasn’t me. I never think about anything in math class except MATH. It had to be her. Wait, her? My soulmate is a girl? Does that make me a lesbian? I never considered this possibility. Do sexuality labels even matter when soulmates exist? OH GOD CAN SHE HEAR ME RIGHT NOW?!?_

Needless to say, Weiss didn’t leave class with any new knowledge that day. She did, however, leave with a slight craving for cookies.

With this instance, the concept of having a soulmate was suddenly much more real to her. It was no longer some ambiguous horizon that would come sometime or other in the future. Somewhere out there was the other half of Weiss’s soul, talking and laughing and thinking and breathing and Weiss didn’t even know who or where she was. What if she was a terrible person? Granted, that voice didn’t sound like it could possibly belong to a terrible person. Terrible couldn't sound so kind. And she was thinking about cookies, of all things. No, let’s be realistic here—if she was fated to be with Weiss, she couldn’t be that bad. Anyone destined for Weiss would likely be as intelligent, determined, and poised as Weiss herself was. She had nothing to worry about.

When Weiss Schnee was fourteen years old, she was performing in a recital when a sudden wave of knee-shaking despair washed over her. There were words in her head, unintelligible in their disconnected sorrowful wailing, so loud that they overtook Weiss’s mind completely. Her heart fell out of her chest, and in the middle of her song, Weiss found herself stumbling forward, hands rushing to clutch at her head. Her right heel bent, and her knees crashed into the stage floor. She barely heard the collective gasp from the audience as she blacked out.  
The next thing she knew, there were tears in her eyes, blurring her vision. The despairing words in her head were much calmer and more intelligible now. _I miss, you, Mom. Yang and Dad miss you too. I wish you hadn’t had to leave…_ She blinked, and was confronted with an unfamiliar tombstone with a burning rose symbol carved into it. The inscription read “Summer Rose—Thus Kindly I Scatter”.

Weiss came back to herself with a jolt. She was lying on the floor backstage, familiar hands cradling her head. She sat up and glanced around frantically, trying to take in all of her surroundings at once when those same hands came to rest calmly on her shoulders, bringing everything into focus as Weiss settled her eyes on her sister, face that of quiet concern, mouth moving wordlessly. Weiss’s ears caught up to her eyes, and Winter’s words made themselves heard.

“—eiss? Weiss? What happened? Are you alright?”

Weiss blinked. Her eyes drifted to the imposing figure standing behind Winter—her father, looking as displeased as she’d ever seen him. She gulped.

“Weiss.” Winter said her name calmly, drawing her attention once more. Offering silent support and an opportunity to explain.

“I-I just got…overwhelmed. This despair just washed over me, and then suddenly I was looking at a tombstone…”

Winter’s brows furrowed. She tucked a stray hair behind her sister’s ear. Weiss glanced from her to their still-displeased father and back.

“Can you stand?” She asked. Weiss nodded. Without another word, Winter helped her sister to her feet and led her to a car waiting outside to take them home. The aching pain of an unknown loss hung over her well into the night.

Ever since her first soulmate encounter, Weiss made an attempt to think only pleasant thoughts. She wanted to make a good impression, after all. The more snags she got from her other half, the more she understood that her original prediction had been wrong. The girl was clumsy (an _ouch! sunnuva biscuit eater!_ followed by a dull throb in her left big toe), immature (_I wonder if I can get away with hiding a comic book behind my textbook in chemistry today_), and a far cry from the high society Weiss was used to (_A hundred lien?!? Why would anyone spend that much money on a dress?!?_). Weiss would be lying if she said she didn’t have some reservations. However, she also knew that her soulmate was passionate (_Ugh! That guy is the worst! Why would being a faunus make anyone any less of a person?!?_) genuine (_Okay, social interaction. I can do this. It’s not that hard. I just have to be myself, and everything will fall into place_) and most importantly, loving (Weiss can’t pinpoint any one instance that stands apart from the rest, but most of them had something to do with Yang—a girl Weiss has gathered is her soulmate’s sister). Weiss finds her heart fluttering each time she catches a glimpse into the mind of this wonderful girl, whoever she is. Despite herself, becomes giddy at the thought of finally meeting her.

When Weiss was seventeen, she ran into a girl on her way to check in for move-in day at her new school.

It is worth noting that Weiss’s father did not approve of this school and he absolutely refused to let her forget about that fact for even a second. He didn’t want his daughter so far out of his reach and away from his thumb, and had thus been making the transition very difficult for Weiss. So, when Weiss finally reached the courtyard where check-in was taking place, she was still tightly wound and very on-edge. And, like anyone else who has been listening for the past several hours to a list as long as an Atlesian winter detailing how disappointing they are, being plowed into by a hyperactive Red Riding Hood did not sit well with her.

“Gah, I’m so sorry I didn’t see you there I didn’t mean to—” the girl immediately began, only to be cut off by the unbridled ice of a Schnee slighted.

“Would you watch where you’re going?!? People are trying to walk here!”

“Of course! I really didn’t mean to run into you, it’s just that I got separated from my sister and I thought I saw her over there so I tried to yell for her but she couldn’t hear me and she was walking away so I just thought—”

But Weiss wasn’t listening anymore. The sound of blood roaring in her ears and the feeling of being punched in the chest was too distracting for her to catch a single thing the girl was saying. Instead, Weiss watched her eyes as she talked, beautiful quicksilver that shone with so much concern and embarrassment it broke Weiss’s heart. She took the rest of the girl in: short, choppy brown hair, a red hoodie, and combat boots that had definitely seen better days. Weiss had never seen anyone like her, but in that instant, as her head was overcome with apologetic groveling and her heartbeat decided now was a good time to try to outrace a cheetah, she realized she’d known this girl for eons.

Weiss didn’t think any further. She just stuck out her hand, stopping the other girl in her tracks.  
“Weiss Schnee,” she said, praying that her soulmate couldn’t hear that her heart was definitely winning that race. “pleasure to meet you.”

Weiss watched as realization crashed onto the girl’s features, washing away confusion and replacing it with what seemed to be equal parts shock and awe.

“Wow, you’re even prettier than I imagined…” her soulmate gawked, which in turn caused Weiss’s face to turn even pinker than it had undoubtedly already been.

“Um, thanks,” she responded. Unsure of what to do with her hand, she opted for clutching at her elbow. “And you are…?”

“Oh! Right! Introductions! Uh, I’m Ruby. Ruby Rose. And uh, I just wanted to let you know, I think the Pythagorean Theorem is pretty easy, too.”

Weiss grinned. Ruby Rose. It was a lovely name.

“Well, I’m rather fond of cookies myself.”

Ruby’s entire face lit up and Weiss almost melted on the spot. Gods almighty, no one should be that radiant.

_You think I’m radiant?_ Weiss jumped at the sound of Ruby’s voice in her head. Despite hearing it all these years, she wasn’t accustomed to being directly addressed like this.

_I think you’re spectacular_. She responded in kind. Now Ruby was blushing, and Weiss was flooded with warmth.

_You aren’t so bad yourself_. Ruby’s attempt to sound suave earned her an eye roll, but Weiss still deigned to take her hand.

_Come on you dolt, we need to check in._

Weiss knew about the soulmate link. She expected it. What she didn’t expect was how natural it felt once she had it. Like she was using a limb she hadn’t known she had. Before, the thought of having someone in her head made her uneasy. Now, she couldn’t possibly imagine living without it.


	2. Part 2: Ruby

Attempts to communicate directly with one’s soulmate before meeting in person have been met with failure at every turn. It is unclear why this is, but many speculate that it is because the connection between the two halves of a whole is not yet strong enough to carry conscious thoughts. According to this theory, the minds are able to catch glimpses when one least expects it because subconscious thoughts require less brain power to create and transmit. Thus, it is universally acknowledged that a person cannot intentionally send messages to his or her soulmate. This doesn’t stop some people from trying.

When Ruby Rose was ten years old, she caught a fever and had to stay home from school. As was the Rose-Xiao Long household Sick Day Tradition, she found herself bundled up on the couch watching infomercials and eating soup. During a particular advertisement for a non-stick baking pan, she heard a voice in her head say _The Pythagorean Theorem is so easy, I grasped this lesson days ago._ In her feverish haze, Ruby immediately assumed an angel was speaking to her. Nothing else explained how she was hearing such a melodic tone. She wept over it for five minutes. It took a solid half hour for the whole “soulmate” thing to occur to her, at which point she began to weep again because she got it in her head that her soulmate was a literal angel, which lasted until her fever broke. _Wow, I can’t believe I heard my soulmate. And I can’t believe she sounds like that! Is there a prettier sound in the world? I don’t think they make sounds prettier than that. I wonder if she can hear me right now…Hi soulmate!!! Your voice is really pretty and I can’t wait to meet you!!! I hope you like me as much as I like you. I already like you a lot. Also, you sound really pretty. Do you sing? You should sing. _When Yang came home that day, Ruby couldn’t shut up about it. Yang, of course, thought this was adorable, although she was slightly miffed that her little sister was hearing her soulmate before she was. Nothing surprising there, though—Ruby had always been an early bloomer.

For some reason, she found herself wishing she were in math class.

Ruby wasn’t overly concerned with the idea of her thoughts being invaded. After all, this girl was supposed to be her other half. Surely nothing in Ruby’s head could put her off too badly. Sure, she had a tendency towards the awkward and this girl seemed so graceful she was probably a goddess, but Ruby had been dealing with that sort of embarrassment her whole life. If anyone could overlook it, surely her soulmate could. With this optimistic outlook, Ruby immediately began trying to send her soulmate messages. The first one went as follows: 

_Hey soulmate! I’m Ruby! Your soulmate! Wait, I already said “soulmate” didn’t I? Whoops. Anyway, I’m ten and I live on the island of Patch with my dad and my sister. My uncle lives here sometimes too, but he’s usually away for work. Ooh, and we have a dog named Zwei! He’s the cutest thing in the world. Anyway, I really like cookies and hot chocolate and books. I’m also a year ahead of everyone else in school because I started kindergarten early. I know they say you can’t talk to your soulmate on purpose until after you’ve met, but weirder stuff has happened, right? So, let me know if you can hear me. I really can’t wait to meet you! I’ll bet you’re super cool. I mean, I’ve only heard your voice once, but you SOUND super cool. And pretty. Also, sorry if you hear anything weird from me. I know I’m kinda dorky sometimes. So, yeah. That’s all I got. I hope I hear you again soon!_

Of course, she never got a response. This didn’t stop her from periodically trying to send the odd tidbit, though, and soon enough it became second nature. She never knew which of her thoughts might make it through the Soulmate Hotline (as her dad called it) so over time she took to addressing many of her thoughts to the girl directly. Judging by the strays she got in response, this had no effect, but she figured at the very least it couldn’t hurt to get used to the idea of having someone in your head.

When Ruby was twelve years old, she was at the shooting range with her sister when an inexplicable fear settled on her chest. Her eyes began to swim away from the target, and her knees swayed beneath her as she tried to make heads or tails of the thoughts entering her mind. _It’s not like I _wanted _to cancel the charity concert, the doctor ordered a vocal rest! If I were to perform anyway, it could seriously damage my singing…God, I wish Winter were here. He’s going to be especially angry after last time._

The shooting range was replaced with an imposing wooden door. Looking at it made Ruby’sheart rate spike. Her hand was shaking as she reached for the knob. The door opened, showing a white-haired man with an obnoxious mustache sitting behind a desk, looking more than displeased. The fear burrowed firmly down into her stomach.

“—ello? Earth to Ruby? You okay sis?” Yang had a hand on each of Ruby’s shoulders, concern shining in her eyes. Ruby shook herself, readjusting to her own reality. It took a moment for her limbs to stop shaking and her breathing to return to normal.

“What happened?” she asked. Yang let her hands slide down to her biceps, a sigh of relief slipping past her lips.

“You zoned out, started breathing really heavily. Looked like you were having a panic attack. You dropped your gun and everything.”

Ruby jolted into action at those words, her eyes frantically scanning the ground for her weapon. She didn’t become a skeet shooting champion by mistreating her precious gun. After a panicked moment, she located the weapon at her feet and scrambled to retrieve it.

“I’m so sorry my precious! I promise I didn’t mean to drop you! Mommy’s never ever going to drop you ever again, baby.”

“I think you’ve had enough for today. Let’s head home.” Yang took her by the arm, and the two of them made their way back to Yang’s motorcycle. The entire ride back, Ruby’s mind lingered on shaking hands and pretentious mustaches.

Ruby ended up graduating early. It was an accident, really. She just signed up for classes that interested her and somehow ended up doubling up on enough classes that hanging around high school another year was unnecessary. While the prospect of going to college two years earlier than everyone else her age was rather intimidating, she was excited to join the best track team in the state, continue her skeet shooting winning streak, and enroll in all the engineering classes she wanted. Plus, she and Yang were going to be in the same year and major, so she’d always have someone there for support.

She did have a vague idea that this could be the place she met her soulmate. After all, a lot of people met their soulmates in college. Her parents met in college. However, from the snippets she’d caught on the Hotline, her soulmate seemed a bit too upper-class to be attending Beacon. Plus, as years went on, she found herself sort of fearing the other girl. Some of the thoughts she heard were skewed towards the frigid side, (_I’m going to throttle the next person who smiles at me at this stupid party_) and she didn’t seem much like the forgiving type (_I don’t know how Klein expects me to talk to Whitley after what he did to my bedroom two months ago_). As discouraging as that might be, though, she also realized that the girl was determined (_I’m going to bring honor to my family name, and I’m not going to let anyone or anything get in my way_) fair (_The hours Father demands of his workers are outrageous. This company is getting a major overhaul as soon as I’m in charge_) and caring (_Mother seems to be having a hard time of it lately. I should keep her company in the garden tomorrow_). Ruby may have been a little intimidated, but her stomach still tied itself into knots whenever something slipped from her soulmate’s mind. It was confusing, but her dad always assured her everything would be fine once she actually met the girl, so Ruby remained overall rather hopeful.

When Ruby was sixteen, the first thing she did at her new college was plow into another girl.

It was purely an accident, of course. She was just so excited about everything, there was energy buzzing through her entire system and she couldn’t slow down if she wanted to. Which is how she managed to round a corner and collide quite unceremoniously with some other poor soul on the library steps.

“Gah, I’m so sorry I didn’t see you there I didn’t mean to—” she began apologizing immediately, but the other girl wouldn’t have it.

“Would you watch where you’re going?!? People are trying to walk here!”

“Of course! I really didn’t mean to run into you, it’s just that I got separated from my sister and I thought I saw her over there so I tried to yell for her but she couldn’t hear me and she was walking away so I just thought—”

Ruby didn’t get much farther as the other girl suck out her hand rather quickly. Ruby examined her. She was a tad on the short side, with fair skin and hair to match, and a scar over her left eye. Her posture was rigid, and the look on her face was like ice slowly melting. 

“Weiss Schnee,” she said, as Ruby took her in. “pleasure to meet you.”

Realization hit her like a ton of bricks, and suddenly Ruby’s feet felt like they might fall out from under her. Her entire body was flooded with warmth as her brain connected this girl’s voice to the angel tones she’d been hearing for the last six years.

Weiss Schnee. Geez, that sounded sophisticated.

“Wow, you’re even prettier than I imagined…” she managed to squeak out, cheeks immediately flushing red. To her credit, Weiss’s countenance had shifted, and she seemed rather flustered herself.

“Um, thanks,” she responded, clutching at her elbow in a way that made Ruby’s heart skip several beats. “And you are…?”

Ruby jolted, suddenly yanked back into reality. 

“Oh! Right! Introductions! Uh, I’m Ruby. Ruby Rose. And uh, I just wanted to let you know, I think the Pythagorean Theorem is pretty easy, too.” She cursed herself internally for her clunkiness, but Weiss was grinning, so it couldn’t have been that bad.

“I can’t say that I blame you. And just so you know, I’m rather fond of cookies myself.”

It was like a weight lifted from the younger girl’s shoulders. All of her fears melted away at once, and Ruby knew she could spend her entire life with this girl.

_You think I’m radiant?_ Ruby could tell Weiss was startled by their first direct communication, but she recovered at an impressive speed. She was so put together, Ruby could swoon.

_I think you’re spectacular._ Weiss responded. Somehow, all those years catching snippets hadn’t prepared Ruby for the warmth she felt when hearing her soulmate address her directly.

_You aren’t so bad yourself_. Her attempt to sound suave earned her an eye roll, but Weiss still deigned to take her hand.

_Come on you dolt, we need to register for classes._

Ruby always loved talking to her soulmate. Now that her soulmate could talk back, she never wanted it to stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been sitting on this for awhile. Sorry it took me so long to get around to posting it.


End file.
